Theatre of the Nations

"Theatre ofthe Nations"

As a result of the work of the International Theatre Institute and those associated with it, the first season of the  Theatre of the Nations  festival was held in Paris in 1957 (10 nations were represented by 16 companies) in partnership with the French authorities. The "Theatre of the Nations " was to remain in Paris, based first at the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre and later at the Odeon Theatre up until 1972. When it began, and during its fifteen year sojourn in Paris it was the major show-case for international theatre in the world the goals pursued being those of quality, plurality and diversity in contemporary theatre. Along with Peter Daubeney's World Theatre Season in London, the "Theatre of the Nations" in Paris was where Peking Opera, Berliner Ensemble, Kabuki, Moscow Art Theatre were first seen in the West after the war.

By the early seventies, many other festivals had flowered throughout Europe and the rest of the world, and Paris was losing interest in maintaining the festival. ITI took the title back for review and in 1975 decided to award the label to a different city in a different country every year.

Held first in Warsaw in 1975 and then in a series of other cities, the "Theatre of the Nations"  has moved around the world, and this international, universal festival has now found expression on nearly all continents.

1975 WARSAW - Poland (8 June - July)

Participating Nations: 17      Companies: 16 + 50 national companies

1976 BELGRADE - Yugoslavia (9-30 September)

Participating Nations: 12      Companies: 17

1977 PARIS - France (2 May - 22 July)

Participating Nations: 11      Companies: 13

1978 CARACAS - Venezuela (2-16 July)

Participating Nations: 28     Companies: 32 + 13 national

1979 HAMBURG - Germany (16 April - 13 May)

Participating Nations: 13    Companies: 24

1980 AMSTERDAM - Holland (29 May - 15 June)

Participating Nations: 27    Companies: 70 + 30 national

1981 VENICE - Italy (23 February - 3 March)

Participating Nations: 10    Companies: 13 + 21 national

1982 SOFIA - Bulgaria (26 June - 6 July)

Participating Nations: 32 Companies: 45

1984 NANCY/EPINAL/METZ - France (13-27 June)

Participating Nations: 21 Companies: 25

1986 BALTIMORE - USA (15-29 June)

Participating Nations: 18 Companies: 19

The rules were further modified at the 1985 ITI Congress at Montréal (Canada) and then, in 1986, the Executive Committee of ITI decided to discontinue the holding of the Theatre of the Nations in its present conception. The festival, now no longer necessarily biennial, would henceforth be organized with the Executive Committee examining projects proposed by the ITI Centres and making recommendations. The label " Theatre of the Nations " is granted by the ITI General Assembly and the Executive Council. The organizers of the " Theatre of the Nations " work in collaboration with the ITI National Centre concerned. The genuinely universal and international character of this event is protected by rules of procedure voted by the ITI General Assembly during the ITI World Congress.

With the new rules, three sessions of the " Theatre of the Nations " have been organized so far:

1993 SANTIAGO DI CHILE - Chile (23 April - 4 May)

Participating Nations: 25   Companies: 31 + 48 national companies

1997 SEOUL - KYONGGI - Korea (1 September - 15 October)

Participating Nations: 21     Companies: 19 + 22 national companies

1998   session of the " Theatre of the Nations "  ZURICH  (Switzerland), 27 June - 20 July,
 in the framework of the Zurich Festival on the occasion of the
150th anniversary of the Helvetian constitution and the  50th anniversary of ITI.
Participating Nations: 16      Companies 22 (4 national).
Approximately 75 performances and a further 50 performances (Opera and concerts).

The Academy of the "Theatre of Nations, Zurich 1998" - workshops for young performing artists  - was organized concurrently with 41 participants from 12 countries.